‘No specific, credible threat’ to US from IS – White House

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama’s national security team believes there is “no specific, credible threat” to the United States from Islamic State, the White House said, amid stepped up coalition strikes on the extremist group.

Obama convened his National Security Council to discuss the recent string of attacks by the self-proclaimed Islamic State, which claims it has created a caliphate taking in huge swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Washington and Paris have stepped up their fight against IS, with France launching its first strikes from a newly deployed aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean and the United States calling for more international cooperation against the group.

Underlining heightened global fears of attacks after violent extremists killed scores in Mali, Lebanon, Nigeria and Turkey in recent weeks, the US government issued a worldwide travel alert on Monday warning American citizens of “increased terrorist threats.”

But Obama “was briefed that there is currently no specific, credible threat to the homeland from ISIL,” the White House said in a statement.

“The president directed his national security team to continue to intensify ongoing efforts to degrade and destroy ISIL.”

It said Obama called for increased security and intelligence cooperation with allies.

“The president emphasized that degrading and destroying ISIL will continue to require coordination and cooperation among a wide range of global partners,” the White House said.

“The United States is strongly committed to continuing to lead the shared efforts of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.”AFP